| London’s theatre district
is largely concentrated into a tight area around Piccadilly Circus and gives a reasonable
variety of plays and musicals. As a very broad generalisation, the more serious stuff
tends to be offered by the government-subsidised theatres which tend to be a bit further
afield. There is a lot of cross-pollination between London and New York as far as the theatre is concerned, and London releases of Hollywood films still tends to be a season behind the US. The quantity of stuff on offer is bewildering to a native, but there are listings magazines to help you, the best of which is Time Out. |
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Theatre Tickets Theatre tickets are normally obtainable at face value from the foyer of the theatre itself, but also at a premium from ticket booths like this throughout the West End. Sometimes you can find tickets for "fully-booked" shows by punting around though if you are buying from a tout on the street be very careful because, contrary to appearance these are not all nice men. Half-Price Theatre Tickets In Leicester Square you can find the official half-price theatre ticket booth. This sells tickets for that afternoon and evening’s performances, though what is available on any given day is a bit unpredictable and there aren’t usually too many cheap seats available at the booth. Take a book with you, too, because you are likely to have to queue up for a fair time, as the pictures show — and these were taken as far out of season as you can get. |
 Half Price Ticket Booth with Map  Half Price Ticket Booth |
Theatres (click here for a general listing) |
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| The Palladium Theatre near Oxford Circus is London’s top venue for variety (what used to be called music hall and what Americans call vaudeville). As the picture shows, it also presents more conventional theatrical fare, but the classic Palladium evening is big-name entertainers fronting their own shows. |
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| Criterion Theatre Don’t be fooled, this is the Reduced Shakespeare Company (rather than its tawdry imitator the Royal Shakespeare Company) presenting an economical interpretation of the bard’s oeuvre. |
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| Prince of Wales Theatre |
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| Film Festival There isn’t likely to be a film festival going on in London during the Congress, but there is a large number of mainstream and art cinemas, including the National Film Theatre on the South Bank. |
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